Thoughts on a Thursday – When Worlds Collide

Really, the title is just an excuse to use a space image 🙂

 

Picture courtesy of hubblesite. 

Tonight I am very late posting as I have been working and I have not had much time to even think about this – I only finished up at 11pm!

So I’m handing this one over to you guys – use the image to free up your mind and write a little something about wherever your creativity takes you.  Think about the galaxies twining around each other and imagine being close enough to watch it happen; look at the shapes and see what’s there – someone throwing a rugby ball, perhaps, or a baton twirler in a rage…

Have fun with it, and use it to break us some of your writing monotony – and share a few lines in the comments, I’d love to see what you do with this one!

Happy writing,

EJ

🙂

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Week 153 – Stormy skies, sensitive internet

Due to the stormy weather here (including thunder that shook the house and lightning that hit homes in a nearby village) my internet is being very temperamental so I’m keeping this very short.

It’s been a very busy week and the writing has been going badly but I have a day to myself tomorrow to get some done so I hope to catch up a little.

The temping work I do – which is basically covering holidays and absences – has been good for me though; already it’s introduced me to new people, new environments, new industries which can help me expand my writing. As I stood on an industrial site on Friday, in the 30 degree heat, I found myself noting little details.

In some respects, it’s not just work, but research. And that helps me counter the frustration of not having the time to write.

In other news – There are two books from the 100 novel list to share today: book 42 is The 39 Steps by John Buchan, and book 43 is The Rainbow, by D.H. Lawrence.  I haven’t read either of these; I have tried to read Lawrence before and didn’t get very far, so I doubt I’ll be adding this one to the list.  However, I hope to read The 39 Steps at some point – just not now!

I’m going to leave it there for today, and hope this posts ok!  See you next time,

Happy writing,

EJ

🙂

 

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Week 152 – Too Sleepy to Write

You know, I think it’ll take me a few days to get to grips with my return to work.

This week, I have managed to write a poem, which is great, but nothing at all for the novel. It’s not just that I’ve been at work – and my weekend was all spent setting up and supporting my friend’s fabric open day so I worked all weekend too – it’s that I am so tired when I get home that I don’t have the concentration needed to write.

I know it’ll settle down, and I’ll get used to the routine – but for now, I am too sleepy to write in the evenings; I am also too sleepy to do much tonight after two very long and energetic days in a sales room.

I will get back on the writing road, but I’ve allowed myself a pass for the last few days. It’s easy to be discouraged but I have to be a little kind to myself. I had filled my time up very well before I went back into the world of work, so trying to carry on with all my responsibilities and work full time will take a certain amount of juggling and rearrangement.

I will catch up on the novel, I will catch up on the 100 novels list, I will get to grips with the reading group, writing group, charity work and wedding planning.  I will get on top of it all, soon.

For now – I am going to bed!

Happy writing,
EJ
🙂

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Thoughts on a Thursday – Working like a dog?

Not this dog, he doesn’t do much work at all.  And if he does do something, like tell me the phone’s ringing , or say hello to visitors, it tires him out so much he has to go back to sleep!

 

I am not working like a dog either, but going back into the office environment after the last few years has been exhausting and I am really too tired to make much sense today.

I realised today that the only way I’ll get any writing done in the next couple of weeks (as I acclimatise) is to fill up gaps with words – so I’ll leaf through ideas at lunchtime, I’ll cogitate as I cook, I’ll mull over the options as I munch my tea!

Finding space to write isn’t just about quiet and calm, but about making use of the time available.

So I’ll be working hard – not like a dog, but like a writer.  Blogs will get shorter but life will get fuller, and the novel will get thicker – and that’s a tradeoff I hope you’ll understand.

Happy writing,

EJ

🙂

 

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Week 151 – New beginnings, and an ending.

Well, following on from last Sunday’s post, I am officially an employee once more.  I can no longer say I have given up the 9-5 to write, as such, because here I am going back to something similar.  Perhaps fewer hours per week, but the principle remains the same – it is the end of my writing life in its current form, at least for a while.

Since I gave up work I’ve studied creative writing, written a complete novel, drafted another and am bashing out a third; I run a small but successful writing group; I have performed my poetry to the public. So those are successes and show that I have made something positive of my time off.  In non-writing terms, I have become heavily involved in a local charity which is something I would never have done if I was still in my old role – this is also something that brings me a great deal of satisfaction and a sense of being part of my community.

So what changed from the start of my journey?  Well, I didn’t enjoy writing short stories so my original idea of sending them off regularly got pushed aside to make way for novels; that ended my plan of earning regularly through writing which has led me to where I am now!  I haven’t found an agent willing to take on my slightly contentious story and have not yet reached the point where I want to pursue self-publishing.

In my more confident moments I think I can carry on as I am, much as I suggested last week.   My desire to write hasn’t ended, it’s just how I use my time (and the amount of time I have) that’s shifted.

It’s another new beginning which is exciting in its own right – and after this one there will be another in November when  I get married.  In fact, life is full of them.

The reality is I’ll probably do less writing than I hope, but more than I did before my break – and that will be enough for now.  When I get into the swing of work again I can assess everything and see what I can manage.

I can’t feel too bad even if  the writing life has changed – I wouldn’t give up these four years for anything, nor the joy I have found in them.  What matters most now is that I remember I’m a writer, and keep getting those words on paper.

Happy writing,

EJ

🙂

 

 

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Week 148 – Must Do Better!

This is going to be a short post as I have a horrible headache and am feeling a little sorry for myself…

I met my target of finishing section one this week, which was a good feeling, but it did prove how much further ahead I could be if I just plugged away when I got the time.

I must do better – at organising my time, at planning my various activities, at prioritising, and at just sitting down and getting the words out even if they’re not exactly what I want them to be.

I have so many things calling on me at the moment that I have to let some things go – I’ve already stopped doing the courses I’d planned to do over the last few months, but I’m also rearranging some of the other things I take on to balance my time a little more.

I am not indispensable with regard to my various committees and groups and if I have to step back so be it.   It’s important for me to give my new job proper attention and to get to grips with writing again – and there are certain things in my life that I have to focus on now.

All in all, I have to do better about saying no when it needs to be said!

In other news – Book 38 of the list is The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame.  I have read this one, as an adult actually; in fact it’s on the bookcase next to me as I type.  I used to watch the TV show when I was little – voiced by Peter Sallis (Wallace from the  Wallace and Gromit films) and David Jason (Delboy Trotter from Only Fools and Horses, amongst other things); those voices are rather evocative.

That’s all for this week, I’m off to lie down in a darkened room…

Happy writing,

EJ

🙂

 

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Week 147 – A New Start and Another Target…

Another week, another social gathering… I’m not about today as I am visiting family to celebrate my niece’s birthday, so this is a pre-written quick update!

This week, I decided to take up a new work opportunity. It’s something I can fit in with writing and it isn’t too complex, but I’m hoping it’ll give me some inspiration for my notebook – a big part of it will be meeting other people so I’m sure a few character traits will pique my interest!  I have never used a character from ‘real life’ of course, but I have identified common behaviours that have turned up in my writing, and you can’t do that if you don’t observe how people behave.

People watching is a human trait, I think: we all have a level of curiosity (or, if I’m honest about myself, nosiness…) as to what people are doing.  We writers just notice the details more!

I am also looking forward to spending some time out and about with other people. I’ve said before that writing is a solitary thing and to spend more time meeting groups of people will be a pleasant change.  My old job involved meeting new people a lot of the time, so all this time alone really took a while to feel normal.  Luckily I have a big family and a great group of friends to alleviate loneliness but I am still alone a lot more than I ever had been before.

But due to meetings about that, and life stuff that I’ve been working on a lot of the time, the writing is suffering a severe case of neglect this week.  I am not sticking to my timetable, and am going to have to get really strict with myself.  So – I will have finished section one by next weekend.  That’s the target, and that’s that!

In other news – We’ve reached book 37 in the list of the 100 best novels: Hadrian the Seventh, by Frederick Rolfe.  Not sure what to make of this one as I’ve never heard of it or the author, and the reviews are mixed, to say the least!  I will see how long it is before I decide whether to try it or not, I don’t want another Gulliver issue!

And finally – I saw this article about books reminding up of where we have read and re-read them; although I can’t say there are any where I remember the environment to the same degree there are some books that remind me of certain things.  For example, I read Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood in the car (not driving!) when my partner and I were on our way back from a holiday, so although I’m no longer sure where we’d been, or what road we were on, I remember sitting in the passenger seat of the car when I think about it.  Another book reminds me of walking home from school through a beautiful old town, because it was given to me by a cousin when she was interested in Chinese things and I bought her a present from a bookshop there.  Books can transport us through time and space, and not just by the words in them – that’s just another reason for me to love the physical books; I relate to them entirely differently from e-books.

And on that note, I’m off to charge the reader so I can read during my travels!

Happy writing,

EJ

🙂

 

 

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